Recorded in 1929 by Columbia-Europe, this is the earliest recording of Stravinksy conducting "Le Sacre."

Digital Transfer by F. Reeder.
NEWLY TRANSFERRED AND RESTORED - July, '09


This audio is part of the collection: 78 RPMs & Cylinder Recordings
It also belongs to collection:

Artist/Composer: Igor Stravinsky, conductor
Keywords: Rite of Spring; Stravinsky, 78rpm

Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0

Notes

STRAVINSKY
Le Sacre du Printemps
(The Rite of Spring)
Ballet Suite for Orchestra

[Orchestra uncredited]
Igor Stravinsky, conductor

COLUMBIA set 129
67703-D - 67707-D
(LX1027 - LX1038)
Recorded in 1929

I. Adoration of the Earth
II. The Sacrifice

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Reviewer: LeGrande - - October 5, 2010
Subject: Exceptional quality for an early electric recording.
Stravinsky did want a very primitive sound in The Rite of Spring, which is why he would write for the instruments in their extreme registers. The primitive sound comes through in this recording, even with its limited dynamic range and fidelity.

For purists who will accept nothing but the definitive version, they should purchase Stravinsky's historic 1940 recording with the New York Philharmonic. It's not a stereo recording, but it's exceptional. For the purposes of the Internet Archive, this 1929 recording is quite acceptable. I plan on using it in my music appreciation classes, as it showcases Primitivism in a way that more sophisticated recordings cannot.

Reviewer: lmharnisch - - July 11, 2010
Subject: Terrible!
If this is Stravinsky conducting, this recording may be of some historic value, if only to show the dismal performances "Rite" once received. It is no exaggeration to say that this sounds like an under-prepared high school orchestra. It really is that bad.

Reviewer: Marco Raaphorst - - January 11, 2010
Subject: fantastic
at first I though there were issues with these mp3 files but I guess it's iTunes under OSX which can't really handle different bitrates and sample frequencies.

Reviewer: kongming819 - - January 7, 2009
Subject: Wonderful Historical Addition
Wow! Great upload.

The sound quality is spotty but it's not bad for 1929.

"Ritual of Abduction" goes like the wiiiiind!

The orchestra here (uncredited in the info section) is most likely the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris (Paris Symphony Orchestra). Monteux, who premiered the work, recorded it in the same year with [another?] Grand Orchestre Symphonique de Paris.